American Crafts, Studio Calico End Licensing Agreement
American Crafts has issued a statement announcing the end of its licensing and distribution agreement with Studio Calico.
According to the announcement, the agreement will terminate on December 31st. This means that Studio Calico will once again be an independent entity when exhibiting at the CHA Mega Show in Anaheim, although its booth is currently shown on the show exhibitor map as situated adjacent to the usual American Crafts block of booths for the show.
“The team at Studio Calico has done an outstanding job developing fashionable, fun products,” said Sarah DeVoll, CEO of American Crafts. “We’re grateful to have partnered with them.”
April Foster, CEO of Studio Calico, said, “American Crafts has been an excellent partner in helping us grow and establish Studio Calico as a brand. We are thankful for their partnership over the past four years.”
The end of the partnership, which was originally announced in October 2011, comes as no surprise to many in the industry. At the 2015 CHA Mega Show, American Crafts rolled out a new brand name "Seven Paper" with a new style in place of the usual Studio Calico releases. The line floundered, with the line's booth garnering virtually no attention from show attendees in Anaheim.
Seven Paper booth
According to the announcement ending the agreement, the Seven Paper brand name is being retired and neither company will be using it moving forward. Inventory from the line's releases is being offered at sale prices by American Crafts.
The kit club side of Studio Calico has grown and changed quite a bit during the period of the agreement with American Crafts governing their wholesale operations. They've reached fulfillment agreements with Ali Edwards and A Beautiful Mess, as well as expanded their kit and class offerings - most notably with the acquisition of Big Picture Classes in 2014.
American Crafts has also made a lot of changes since inking the agreement with Studio Calico in 2011. It acquired Crate Paper around the same time, and has since acquired We R Memory Keepers, Bazzil, Imaginisce, and Pink Paislee. In 2012, the company also signed a licensing and distribution agreement with the hugely successful Project Life brand by Becky Higgins. Shortly after that announcement, the Studio Calico kit club rolled out a Project Life branded kit offering. Project Life and Studio Calico announced the discontinuation of that kit last month.
